''From the Ashes'' is a 2019 memoir by

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

academic and writer

Jesse Thistle Jesse Thistle (born 1976) is a Métis-Cree author and assistant professor in the Department of Humanities at York University in Toronto. He is the author of the internationally best-selling memoir, '' From the Ashes.'' He is a PhD candidate in th ...

. The memoir documents Thistle's difficult upbringing, struggles with homelessness, addiction and his Indigenous identity, yet is centred on the theme of love. It concludes with his success in academia, finding love, and community emplacement. ''From the Ashes'' is the bestselling Indigenous memoir in Canada over the last 20 years, ranking 4th overall of Canadian memoirs published between 2006-2021, behind only Chris Hatfield,

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

, and

Amanda Lindhout Amanda Lindhout (born June 12, 1981) is a Canadian humanitarian, public speaker and journalist. On August 23, 2008, she and members of her entourage were kidnapped by Islamist insurgents in southern Somalia. She was released 15 months later ...

. The book was met with praise from reviewers, attracted awards for Thistle and was a Canadian bestselling book in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Author

Jesse Thistle is a Métis-Cree professor at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

"Jesse Thistle among winners of 2020 Indigenous Voices Awards for memoir From the Ashes"

CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, June 22, 2020. who researches

Michif Michif (also Mitchif, Mechif, Michif-Cree, Métif, Métchif, French Cree) is one of the languages of the Métis people of Canada and the United States, who are the descendants of First Nations (mainly Cree, Nakota Nakota (or Nakoda or Nakona) ...

road allowance life in mid 20th-century

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. He has also worked in the fields of Indigenous homelessness, addiction and

intergenerational trauma Transgenerational trauma is the psychological and physiological effects that the trauma experienced by people has on subsequent generations in that group. The primary modes of transmission are the uterine environment during pregnancy causing epige ...

."From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle is the #1 bestselling Canadian print book of 2020 so far"

, October 20, 2020. ''From the Ashes'' is Thistle's first book.

Synopsis

The book documents Thistle's difficult upbringing in Saskatchewan, his father's addiction issues, and being taken into state custody before being cared for by his grandparents in

Brampton, Ontario Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it th ...

. ''From the Ashes'' details Thistle's struggle with his own Indigenous identity, his relationship with his brothers, his use of drugs, being kicked out of his grandparents home and his time living on the streets in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Brampton,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Thistle's story is told over short chapters, and makes use of prose and poetry. As a young adult, Thistle struggles with

suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, means having thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending one's own life.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal ideatio ...

, and he is jailed, before finding redemption through university education.

Critical reception

Jesse Winter writing in ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' describes the narration as brutal and humble.

Michelle Nolden Michelle Nolden (born March 17, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in numerous films and television shows including Murdoch Mysteries, '' ZOS: Zone of Separation'', ''Numb3rs'', ''Street Time'', '' Earth: Final Conflict'', ''The Time ...

, writing in ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

'' described it as inspirational and praised the author's brutal honesty and bravery and described the book as a "beautiful story of hope, love and perseverance". As of October 2020, ''From the Ashes'' was the bestselling Canadian book of 2020 in any genre or format; it finished the year in this spot. The book was the most borrowed Canadian non-fiction book of 2021 and the bestselling Canadian non-fiction book of 2020. It was also the bestselling two-year-old Canadian book in 2021. The book was featured in the Canadian Broadcasting's

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

competition in 2020.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Forced to live on roadsides: the dark history of Métis road allowances''
CBC Radio, 2019, interview with Jesse Thistle 2019 non-fiction books Canadian autobiographies Simon & Schuster books Canadian memoirs Books about suicide